Christmas

We wanted to share some of the pictures of Karis in her Christmas dress.

Apparently we were taking too long taking pictures. Page and I get a smile each time we see this pic. She does not do this very often, but when she does she gives it her all.

We helped Mema celebrate her 80th birthday. Karis was a little shy most of the day because we woke her from her nap to go to the party. She was asked several times by Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins for hugs and kisses but she ran around the room saying "No Hugs" "No Kisses". She has gotten a little picky about who she hands those out to.

This picture, as well as the first one, were taken at Nanna and PopPop's house at Thanksgiving. We wanted to get several pictures of her in her Christmas dress. We liked this one so much that we have been handing it out for Christmas presents.

Christmas Day!!

We had a great time in Montgomery for Christmas. We spent Christmas with Page's parents and his sister's family. I do not have any pics at this time because I could not take pictures and run a video camera too. I am apparently not that talented. Karis really enjoyed Christmas this year. She sat in her chosen place by the couch and once she got the hang of ripping open the gifts, she did quite well. She would open the gift and then say "Ooh" or "Wow". She would spend a good time making sure she knew what the gift was and who it was from and then she was ready for the next one. I think her favorite gift that day was the "puppy" cousin Jason gave her. She opened that gift first and it did not leave her side while she opened the rest of the gifts. If the "puppy" was misplaced from his location she would go get the puppy and sit it next to her and then resume her gift opening.

We had a great time watching her this year. Out time with Winston, Betty, Beth, Cliff, Bethany, and Lucas was good as well. We enjoyed getting to go to a Christmas Eve service at Beth and Cliff's church. Page gave a 5 minute testimony about Karis' adoption. He compared the gift of her adoption with the gift that God gives us through our adoption into His family. We are not only God's sons and daughters but we are also co-heirs with Jesus. We will receive all that Christ receives as the first born of God! The gift of Jesus that first Christmas morning brought so much with it. We feel so blessed that God has allowed us to experience the joy of adoption in our earthly family. We pray that each of you have experienced the eternal joy of adoption in your own lives.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Over the River & Through the Woods....

We are leaving tomorrow to go over several rivers, lakes, and streams and through several "forests" to get to the grandparents house for Christmas. We are making a pit stop in Macon, GA to celebrate my Mema's (Libby) 80th birthday. We are very excited about celebrating this definite milestone in her life. I am very blessed to have a grandmother with such a legacy. She has encouraged us to love learning, reading, and trying new food. (I remember one time she said she liked taking my brother, sister, and I out to new restaurants because we were not afraid to try the food. We still enjoy good food. I moved to a city with some of the best food in the world.) She has also encouraged us to travel and learn about places in the States and over seas as well. Most of all, she has given us a great example of loving the Lord. She is one of the most giving people I know. We are so grateful for her life and what God has done and is doing through her.

We will be spending Christmas day with Page's family in Montgomery, AL. I am looking forward to the Christmas Eve service at Cliff & Beth's church (Page's brother in law and sister), in which Page will be giving a sermonette (at least it is supposed to be :-). I will hopefully be posting pictures of Karis' second Christmas soon. We tried to have Christmas here at the house before we left, but she was not feeling well today. We wanted her to enjoy Christmas and not be too tired and cranky. 

She has enjoyed the chair Nanna, PopPop, and Mema gave her for Christmas as well as the one gift we could not wrap...the wagon. She spent all day today going back and forth between the chair and the wagon. We are not sure what is wrong, but her eyes have been bothering her. She would sit in both the wagon and the chair with her eyes closed because they were hurting her. She even ate lunch with her eyes closed. She felt around the tray for her pb sandwich and listened to Boz on the "TB". It was a pretty sad sight. We are hoping she feels better tomorrow as we travel.

We hope each of you and your families have a wonderful Christmas Season and a very Happy New Year.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas?

No, it is not Christmas yet, but we will take it when we can get it. We woke up this morning to huge flakes and snow beginning to accumulate on the ground. Some of the schools on the northshore were being closed and other parishes were declaring a "state of emergency" because of the weather conditions. We just think it is beautiful.

This if the front of our triplex. There is about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground.

Karis is out in her goulashes and rain coat. Don't worry grandparents she has a huge fleece on underneath the rain coat. We were not sure when she would get a chance to wear the shoes, but after being persuaded to put them on, she had a blast in her "new shoes".

This is the picture we awoke to this morning. Isn't it beautiful!!